EVALUATION OF MINERAL POTENTIAL FOR MOUNT EDZIZA RECREATION AREA Submitted to: Prince Rupert Interagency Management Committee Paul Wojdak, P.Geo. September, 1993 Regional Geologist TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Executive Summary 1 Purpose and Scope 2 Location 2 History of Mount Edziza Park 2 Mineral Exploration History 3 Regional Geology 4 Regional Perspective of Mineral Deposits 4 Spectrum Property Geology 6 Spectrum Mineral Deposits 8 Conclusions - Spectrum Mineral Potential 11 Recommendations 12 Bibliography 17 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Mount Edziza Regional Geology and Mineral Deposits (In pocket) 2. Idealized Model for Formation of Mineral Deposits, Stikine Region 5 3. Mount Edziza Recreation Area Geology and Mineral Zones 7 4. Spectrum Property Section 9966N 10 5. Spectrum Property Longitudinal Section - QC Zone 13 6. Spectrum Property Longitudinal Section - Porphyry Zone 14 7. Spectrum Property Longitudinal Section - 500 Color Zone 15 8. Mount Edziza Recreation Area Mineral Potential 16 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Government's Protected Areas document released in June 1993 confirms that Recreation Areas, as defined under the Parks Act do not qualify as Protected Areas. The Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources is directed to complete an evaluation of mineral potential of Recreation Areas to assist inter-agency management committees with land use planning. Resolution of the status of Mount Edziza Recreation Area is a high priority for EMPR because advanced exploration of the Spectrum gold prospect is very unlikely under current land designation. Mount Edziza Park and Recreation Area are located in north-central British Columbia, The park was designated in 1972 to recognize Mount Edziza volcano, a major and visually impressive volcanic edifice measuring 20 by 75 kilometers in area. Mount Edziza is a recent event in geological terms and the volcano is superimposed on older and much different geology. These unrelated older rocks include areas of high mineral value. A 1-10 kilometer wide Recreation Area surrounding the Park was also declared in 1972 and was annexed in 1989, except for the Spectrum mineral claims. By doing so, the size of Mount Edziza Park was roughly doubled to 230,000 hectares and the Recreation Area was reduced to 4,000 hectares. Exploration for gold and copper on the Spectrum mineral claims has been nearly continuous since 1967. The most significant mineral discovery was not made until 1990, demonstrating the need for time and persistence in mineral exploration. Total expenditure for mineral exploration in Mount Edziza Recreation Area exceeds $4,426,000. This represents an investment in the mineral potential of the Spectrum property. Access to the Spectrum mineral claims is by air, there is no avenue for surface access without crossing a lake or a corner of the Park. Rocks with high mineral potential in the area surrounding Edziza volcano include Paleozoic schist and Mesozoic volcanic and granitic rocks. The roots of a Mesozoic volcanic island arc were intruded by batholiths, stocks and dikes of the granite suite. These intrusions are widespread and associated with most of the important mineral deposits in the region, including Spectrum. Some of the best mineralized granitic bodies are very small and easily overlooked in regional mapping. Large mineral deposits in the region that are in broadly correlative strata include Galore, Schart Creek, Eskay and Red Chris deposits, plus many significant exploration projects. The Spectrum gold deposit is associated with a northerly trending Mesozoic monzonite dike, a variety of granite. Gold occurs primarily in the QC-Porphyry zone near the east margin of the dike, but also in numerous other zones. Geologic reserves are estimated to contain 242,000 ounces of gold, with an in-ground value of $106 million. All gold zones are open to expansion by continued exploration. Zones of high and extreme mineral potential are delineated within Mount Edziza Recreation Area that correspond to favourable geology, indicated gold reserves, gold-copper mineral showings and indirect indicators of additional mineralization. A realistic target of continued exploration is a three to four-fold increase in gold reserves at similar grade. If this target were achieved a small to medium-sized underground mining proposal could be put forward to the Mine Development Review Committee. That committee would assess environmental impact and compatibility of the proposed mine with adjacent Mount Edziza Park. The Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources determines that the mineral potential of the Spectrum property is unlikely to be fully defined or developed under the current land designation of Recreation Area. EMPR recommends that Prince Rupert Interagency Management Committee: a) support removal of the Spectrum property from Mount Edziza Recreation Area, b) support minor adjustment of Mount Edziza Park boundary to provide a ground access corridor to the Spectrum property that does not traverse the park. 2 PURPOSE AND SCOPE Recreation Areas, as defined under the Parks Act are not recognized as "protected areas" because mineral exploration and development are allowed. As part of implementation of the Protected Areas Strategy for British Columbia the Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources is directed to conduct mineral and energy potential evaluations based, where possible, on existing resource inventory data. This report aims to fulfil that directive with respect to Mount Edziza Recreation Area. The HAWK 1-3, RED DOG 1-4, RED, PINK and CAMP mineral claims comprise the Spectrum property. Mineral exploration at the Spectrum site pre-dates Mount Edziza Park. Mineral exploration companies have been active on the claims, known collectively as the Spectrum property almost continuously since 1967. Previously, Mount Edziza Recreation Area fringed Mount Edziza Provincial Park on its east, south and west sides. Subsequently the Recreation Area was incorporated into the park except for the Spectrum property, apparently without regard for mineral values. Accordingly "Mount Edziza Recreation Area" and "Spectrum property" now are coincident. This report deals with the current Recreation Area but draws on regional geology and mineral deposit information. Geological data used to prepare this report includes regional mapping by the Geological Survey of Canada (Souther; 1992, 1972) and BC Geological Survey (Logan, Drobe and Elsby, 1992), local mapping by the BC Geological Survey (Panteleyev, 1972) and numerous reports filed with MEMPR by mining companies to fulfill mineral tenure requirements, most notably Hylands (1990) and Norman (1992). Columbia Gold Mines Ltd. also made available a report by Kilby, Casselman and Roberts (1991) that includes geological ore reserve calculations. The writer examined the Spectrum property with George Norman of Columbia Gold Mines on August 7, 1992. LOCATION (refer to Figure 1, in pocket) Mount Edziza Park and Recreation Area lie within the Tahltan Highlands between the Stikine and Iskut Rivers in north-central British Columbia. The centre of the area is 100 kilometres southwest of Dease Lake. Mount Edziza Recreation Area covers 4,000 hectares and is located 25 kilometers west of Highway 37 at Kinaskan Lake, on the east side of the park within NTS map sheet 104G. There is no road access to Mount Edziza Park. -« Exploration access to the Spectrum property is by air. Ground access for mineral development would require 2 kilometres of road across the margin of Mount Edziza Park because the park boundary extends to the shores of Nuttlude Lake. HISTORY OF MOUNT EDZIZA PARK Mount Edziza Park was designated in 1972 to include volcanic features and eruptive products deposited by the Mount Edziza volcano and a Recreation Area was designated for a 1-10 kilometer wide area that fringed the park on its east, south and west sides. The Recreation Area covered a diverse assemblage of older and unrelated metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks. In 1989 the Recreation Area was annexed to Mount Edziza Park, except for the Spectrum mineral tenure. This change in land designation nearly doubled the area of Mount Edziza Park. Spectrum was excluded because Ministry of Parks was reluctant to engage in legal claims for compensation of mineral claims. The Spectrum property comprised the only mineral claims in the Recreation Area at that time. 3 MINERAL EXPLORATION HISTORY Mineral exploration history on the Spectrum property demonstrates two important points that are pertinent to assessment of mineral potential. First, despite a 36 year history of mineral exploration involving nine organizations the area continues to attract the interest of explorationists. Secondly, the most significant mineral discovery was made by Columbia Gold Mines in 1990, the ninth company to conduct work on the Spectrum-Hawk claims. Columbia Gold Mines has expended $2,256,336 on the Spectrum mineral claims. Other companies have expended $2,169,914 since 1975 for a total of $4,426,250. Figures prior to 1975 are unavailable. Exploration history of the Spectrum property is extracted from Norman (1992): Year Party Exploration 1957 Torbit Silver Mines Surface exploration on Hawk vein 1967 Shawnigan Mining and Drilling of Hawk vein Smelting Company 1969 Spartan Explorations Spectrum claims staked 1970 Mitsui Mining and Geophysical and Smelting Company geochemical surveys 1971-73 Imperial Oil Limited Geological/geochemical /geophysical surveys 4 drill holes, 463 meters. 1975 Racicot Syndicate Staked Red Dog claims 1977-79 Consolidated